Reinforced concrete construction



B. WHITE.

REINIORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLiCATION FILED JUNE 18, 19m.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

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8. WHITE.

REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED JUNE l8. I918.

1,389,404. Patented g- 30,1921.

Bar-oz 74%.

UNITED STATES VVPIATIENT OFFICE.

BARCLAY WHITE, or LANSDOWNE, PENNSYLVANIA.

QEINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed. June 18,

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BARCLAY VVr-rrrn, a citizen of the United States, residing in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Reinforced Concrete Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to concrete or similar plastic floor construction, and one object of my invention is to provide a series of hollow blocks of concrete or similar plastic material, or of concrete combined with a hollow center of stiff paper, wallboard, wood, or similarly available substance capable of performing a similar function, of such shape, character and construction as to serve as a filler between reinforced concrete joists or beams spanning bays. or floor spaces in building construction.

The improved hollow filling blocks forming part of myinvention have top and bottom surfaces substantially parallel with each other; the bottom surfaces forming the ceiling of one story and the top surfaces, with or without the addition of a special surfacing material which, when used, is preferably applied during manufacture, forming the floor of the story above; such blocks having substantially vertical side walls with flanges entirely surrounding the sameand preferably disposed at the base of the blocks when the latter are set in place.

or beams in which may be embedded suitable metallic reinforcement.

A further object of my invention isf-to provide a suitable internal form of paper or similar fibrous material which may serve as a core support for concrete poured around the same preparing the blocks, so that the block structures when finished will be hollow, light, strong, "dry, and fireproof, with the additional advantages of being'a poor conductor of'heat or sound; or such core may be used independently of complete blocks in forming a floor or ceiling, as hereinafter set forth. I A further object of my invention is to-provide suitable reinforcing means for the sevthe floor construction.

Specification of Letters latent. Patented Aug, 30, 1921 1918. Serial No. 240,616.

eral walls of the blocks so that they will be strong enough to safely support the loads imposed upon them when incorporated in A still further object .of my invention is to provide a hollow precast or preformed unit which maybe quickly and easil placed upon temporary staging and whic after the narrow spaces or grooves between the block units are filled with concrete'laid over metal bars or other reinforcement, will not only act in assisting to carry the compressive stresses caused by the beam or plate action taking place in the floor when the latter is loaded after removal of the staging, but may furnish a hard. smooth anddurable tile-like floorwhich can be walked upon immediately after the concrete is poured in the spaces between the blocks and before such concrete hardens'.

These and otherfeatures of my invention are more fully described hereinafter, refer-' ence being had'to the accompanying drawings, in which: 1 Figure 1, is a cross sectional View of a. mold or form in which my improved blocks may be made; such view showing also ireinforcing material for the several walls of such blocks,a'nd theinsert'ed core.

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of a finished block. Fig, 3, is a cross sectional viewof: a floor illustrating the manner in which the blocks are set in place and receive concrete inthe spaces between the same.

Fig. i, is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating a modifiedarrangemerit within the scope of my invention.

Fig. 5', is a perspective view showing the blocl-rsin place and the floor in'course of construction, and d Figs. 6, 7 and 8, are sectional views illus- 3 fora purpose to be, described, andwithin I the same I dispose a 'basket-like reinforcementofwire 5 preferably having foot membore 6 whereby it may be spaced from the bottom'of the form. Upon the bottom of N such form and to a depth suflicient to fully cover the portion 5 of the reinforcement, I pour concrete when making the block, and this portion or layer of the concrete may be of a special character, containing special coloring matter, or a suitable hardening agent, if desided, since the portion thus formed is at the top and may become the floor surface when the block is built into place in a platform or floor, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5.

In order to make this portion of the concrete; that is to say, the part which becomes the floor surface when the block is built into place, of a suitable and preferably definite however, and when the layer of concrete has set to a certain extent I introduce a permanent core member, indicated at 10, which is preferably made .of waterproof paper, or other similarly available material capable of performing the same function and which may comprise an outer shell 10, with a series of partition members 10, 10; prefer ably disposed at right angles to each other andserving as a reinforcing support to pre vent sagging or bulging of the outer walls of such core due to the weight of the concrete employed during the process of making the blocks. After the core has been set in place, an additional metal reinforcing layer is preferably placed over thesame which will be disposed in the flanged bottom portion of the finished block, and such reinforcement may be of woven wire material, indicated at 5. Concrete is then poured around the sides of the core, filling the space between the same and the form and covering the top of the core and said wire reinforcement 5 The top surface of the finished concrete mass within the mold may then be trued with a suitable float, and this surface may be smooth or rough, depending whether or not it will form the finished surface of the ceiling, or is to receive a coat of plaster. In the former instance, it may be desirable to finish it off with a thin layer of a mixture of materials different from the rest of the block in order that the finished ceiling shall be as smooth as possible, and coloring matter may be introduced if desired. 1

The casting of these blocks is preferably done on a vibrating table to eliminate air bubbles and insure a dense homogeneous mass in the walls of the same.

In order to provide means whereby the concrete or plastic blocks 1 may be readily handled, the side walls 3 of the form may have inwardly disposed projections 3 and 3 secured to the inner surface of the same, which projections are adapted to form apertures or recesses 1 and 1 in the side walls ofsaid molded blocks whereby they may be easily picked up and carried, and these recesses or apertures will serve the further purpose of keying the poured concrete forming the joists or beams, to the said blocks. If desired, a plurality of these recesses may be provided in a plurality of planes, as clearly illustrated in the drawings, and the central recesses 1* may be larger, if desired.

After the blocks have been finished, set,

and if desired, dried, they may be removed from the form in which they were poured or cast, and then placed upon suitable supports, as indicated in Figs. 3, 4E and 5. Then, after suitable reinforcing means such as the bars 12 have been introduced into the spaces between the blocks, concrete or other plastic material 13 is introduced therein. This concrete may be finished flush with the upper surface of the blocks; the latter forming part of the floor, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5, or the concrete may entirely cover the blocks, as shown in Fig. 4, as may be desired. In either instance additionalflooring material may be placed upon the upper surface, if desired.

Should it be desired to use a floor of this character for heavy, concentrated or impact loads, the thickness of and the amount of reinforcement in the top portion of the block; that is to say, the portion which is at with catches or pins 14 at the four upper V corners adjacent the portion forming the flange of the block in order to aid in quick assembly and disengagement.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have illustrated modified arrangements within the scope of my invention, in which I have utilized a core of pasteboard or similarly suitable material such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, within the hollow block. Thus in F ig. 6, two slabs of concrete are indicated at-15 and 15 the slab 15 constituting the upper or tread portion, and the slab 15 constituting the lower or ceiling portion and being relatively larger than the slab 15, substantially to the same extent that the flanges of the hollow block I use, a hollow core portion 10 is placed be tween the same, and thereafter the projecting portions 16 of the reinforcements are suitably tied together by wire strands 17 the tying means lying within the subsequently applied mass of concrete 18 to form the joist or beam between the sides of the core and the edges of the top slab. Any other suitable means of permanently securing the top and bottom slab and the filler between the same may be used.

In the structure shown in Fig. 7 the top slab is omitted and the core may be simply set into or attached to the bottom slab 15*, or even set directly on the staging without the use of a bottom slab. In the arrangement shown, the bottom slab may be cast with respect to the core so that the contacting edges of the latter are connected to the slab to an extent sufficient to insure that they will be carried together for convenience of placement in the floor, after which concrete 13 is poured between and over the cores to form the completed floor construction. If desired the core may be tied to the slab by wire connections 18.

It is also within the scope of myinvention to use a precast fioor filler or block made with the use of a removable core so that such block, when in place, will be open on the side forming the ceiling surface; giving a recessed or cellular appearance instead of the continuous ceiling surface, such form of block being shown in Fig. 8. If desired, the openings or cells of such form of block could be covered with expanded metal and plaster, or any other means of producing a flat ceiling.

It is to be understood that wherever reference is made herein to the top wearing surface of the blocks, it is intended that this wearing surface may form either the fun ished, or the under flooring of the building, since such blocks may be covered with cement, wood, composition or other top sur facing material or means if and as desired.

I claim:

1. In floor construction, the combination of filler members comprising relatively thinwalled, hollow blocks of hardened plastic material with an internal form of fibrous material supporting the walls of said block; the walls of said block being apertured at intervals and the internal support serving to close the inner ends of said apertures, and reinforced concrete beams disposed at right angles to each other and inclosing said hollow block filler members; the latter being arranged to provide a wearing surface at the top.

2. In floor construction, the combination of filler members comprising relatively thinwalled hollow blocks of hardened plastic material with an internal form of fibrous ranged to provide a wearing surface at the top, and flanges entirely surrounding the filler members and integral with the bottom thereof; said flanges adapted to abut on all iides and provide a continuous ceiling surace.

3. As a new article'of manufacture, a hollow concrete member having integral top, bottom, and side walls, a fibrous supporting shell within the hollow concrete member, and vertically disposed supporting means arranged within said fibrous shell.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow concrete member having top, bottom, and side walls; a fibrous supporting shell within the hollow concrete member, vertically disposed supporting means arranged within said fibrous shell, and a metallic reinforcement within the walls of said hollow concrete member and entirely surrounding the fibrous structure.

5. As a new article of manufacture, filler members comprising relatively thin-walled hollow rectangular blocks of hardened plastic material withan internal form of fibrous material supporting the side and top and bottom walls of said block; said walls being apertured at intervals for the reception of keying portions of concrete placed between the blocks, and the internal support serving to close the inner ends of said apertures; said filler members being arranged to provide a top wearing surface, and having flanges entirely surrounding the same and integral with the bottom walls; said flanges adapted to abut and provide a continuous ceiling surface.

BARCLAY WHITE. 

